Peter Baye couldn't believe his eyes when he spotted an 8-inch nearly white Steelhead swimming with a group of normal-colored Steelhead. In all his years of exploring the far reaches of the Gualala River, he's never seen anything like this. Mother Nature must be playing tricks!
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A mother Gray Whale and her calf were photographed by Richard Denniston from his vacation home, Serendipity, which overlooks the Gualala River and the Pacific Ocean. Rick has shared some fabulous photos of whales with Sightings over the past several years from this vantage spot. Looking for a special place to rent? This is it! http://www.serendipityview.com/
There had been numerous Gray Whale sightings until the winds began several days ago. Hundreds of whales could be passing by and we'd never know because of the white caps. Last week though, a Minke Whale was spotted swimming with two female Gray Whales and two calves for protection. They were, of course, migrating north. Lots of krill reported in the waters off of Point Arena, which means good feeding for our beloved cetaceans.
A strong storm lashed the coast last night, dropping trees and limbs and causing power outages, particularly here on the Mendocino Coast. Driving down to The Sea Ranch for breakfast with our overnight guests we saw that the Gualala River was closed to the Pacific Ocean and in flood stage. After breakfast we walked with Huckleberry along the Gualala Bluff Trail, apparently just missing the opening of the river. It was blasting out the north end of the sand bar amazingly, dangerously fast. Oh, are you waiting to hear about the oh-so-rare moonbow? A friend, Laurie, called today to tell me she and her husband were driving back late to Gualala from Fort Bragg in the storm last night. They were near Elk when the clouds parted and the huge full moon made an appearance. To the side of the moon they saw an arcing moonbow in shades of gray and charcoal but also reds and pinks. What I would give to see a moonbow!
